The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Begonia, botanically known as Begonia rex hybrid, commercially known as Rex Begonia, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name ‘Libra’.
The new Rex Begonia is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Vista, Calif. The objective of the breeding program is to create new compact vigorous Rex Begonia plants with attractive foliage coloration.
The new Rex Begonia originated from a chance cross-pollination in February, 2001 of two unknown selections of Rex Begonia. The new Rex Begonia was discovered and selected as a single plant from within the resulting progeny of the chance cross-pollination in Vista, Calif. in April, 2002.
Asexual reproduction of the new Begonia by leaf cuttings in a controlled environment in Vista, Calif. since November, 2002, has shown that the unique features of this new Begonia are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.